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Science & The Big Questions

Does the universe have a purpose? What is the nature of space and time? Does science make belief in God obsolete? What can the sciences teach us about spiritual matters?

These are but a few of the kinds of “Big Questions” that Templeton Press seeks to explore in the books we publish. Our founder, Sir John Templeton, intended for the Press to be a driving force in the dissemination of new ideas and research about the “basic forces, concepts, and realities” governing the universe and humankind’s place in the universe.

Since our founding in 1997, Templeton Press has published titles by some of the brightest names in this broad and fascinating area of study, including John Polkinghorne, Paul Davies, Holmes Rolston III, and Keith Ward. With works ranging from original research to easily accessible primers on complex subjects, our list in this area continues to grow with contributions coming from all areas of scientific inquiry and many different spiritual, cultural, and philosophical traditions.

For Sir John, the overarching goal of asking the Big Questions and approaching them with scientific rigor, openness, and humility was to discover what he called “new spiritual information.” This term, to his mind, encompassed progress not only in our conception of religious truths but also in our understanding of the deepest realities of human nature and the physical world.

The goal of our Science & the Big Questions publishing list is to help humankind better understand these realities.

Initiatives

Templeton Science and Religion Book Series

In the Templeton Science and Religion Series, scientists from a wide range of fields distill their experience and knowledge into brief tours of their respective specialties. The series was launched in 2008 with the publication of Harold G. Koenig’s book, Medicine, Religion, and Health. Since that time, the series editors J. Wentzel van Huyssteen and Khalil Chamcham have expanded it to nine titles covering everything from paleontology, to neuroscience, to technology.